The KC 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb was a huge success – what a weekend!

It’s a cool Monday morning here in Kansas City and as I’m getting around for the day, I’ve been reflecting on this last weekend’s events. Last week there was a little news about this event that hit the National press, but due to the proactive work of law enforcement the issue was thwarted:

The show went on.

We sponsored the 2015 KC 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb – specifically the celebration dinner the night before – called the “Brotherhood Bash”. It’s a time for the firemen to get together and bond before the next morning where they climb 110 stories in full firefighter gear. It’s impressive.

Here’s Lennie at the event having a great time; and the group of us had some good laughs, met some great people, ate, drank, and participated in the raffle for a lot of goodies at the end of the night.

During the event’s festivities, Dave Bova (the Event coordinator, and good friend of mine) unveiled this mural:

It’s the first of it’s kind in existence, but probably not the last. It’s got a picture of every fallen firefighter (all 343 of them) that was in New York on that fateful day back on September 11, 2001. This event is to honor those that made the ultimate sacrifice and to promise to “never forget”.

It’s a touching way to spend a weekend and as I hugged my family it brought some sense of gratefulness and pride to be a part of this celebration. It’s a memorial for a tragic day, but the “togetherness” makes things better. We will be back next year and we hope you get it on your calendars now so you can witness the power of the “brotherhood”. It’s worth the time, trust me.